GC Alum Daley In Tulsa

Matt warms up before the game

Matt Daley, a 2000 Garden City graduate and son of Lynn and John Daley, continues to work his way through the Colorado Rockies baseball organization. Coming into Spring training this season Matt was hoping to take the next step in the organization - moving up to Double A, after having a terrific season at Modesto last year. But as everyone knows, nothing is guaranteed unless you work hard to earn it. And with Matt's off season workout regime and attention to the details of the game, he was able to prove that he belonged on the roster of the Double A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League. Once again he is working out of the Drillers pen as a key setup man for a pitching staff that is ranked near the top of their league in most categories.

More than halfway through the season, Matt has pitched in 36 games. This places him among the top 20 in the league in appearances. And just think, he missed some bullpen duty because he was moved into a starters role in late May for 10 starts. His pitching line continues to impress, especially with his walk to strikeout ratio and his WHIP (walks plus hits per inning). In 82 innings he has 74 strikeouts with only 19 walks and a WHIP of 1.07; while opposing hitters are only averaging a paltry .217 against him. He also carries a 3.27 ERA into the final third of the season - not bad considering the hitters in the Texas League that he faces nightly. It's also an ERA that would easily place him in the top ten percent of the league. Although he was somewhat successful as a starter, Matt is looking forward to getting back to his role as a setup man and working out of the pen.

Matt with fans Ashley and Robbie Hilton.

On a recent visit to Dallas (actually Frisco, TX), I was fortunate enough to spend a few minutes before a game with Matt (although the game was rained out by the torrential storms of the southwest). But I did get a glimpse of why he continues to be successful and has the potential to make it to The Show - no, not Letterman, but the major leagues. Besides his terrific baseball skills (especially the movement on his fastball), Matt has always been grounded in his beliefs and quite modest about his accomplishments. He often talks about how amazing it's been to be able to have this experience and meet some really terrific people - either coaches, teammates, opposing players or the fans that come out to the ballpark. He almost gives you a sense of not believing he is there and is this close to making a child hood dream come true. But when a couple of small children came up to him asking for an autograph, you got the feeling that he did belong. With his desire and competitive spirit it's not hard to imagine him pitching against our hometown Mets some day; and that's when we will have the dilemma of who to root for.

Matt checks the sign.

Matt fires a strike in game action.